Unexpected
by GamerWires627
Summary: The Batter didn't know what exactly to expect when he pulled the switch at the end of the Room, but it certainly wasn't this. Zacharie and Sugar didn't except to be back in the world they had abandoned nine years ago. The Judge didn't expect to get his silky, soft fur wet in a random, cold river. And the Elsen they brought along didn't expect to be ripped from their hiding place...
1. New World

**At the moment, it's only been a few hours since I finished playing OFF. I legit cried at both the Judge and the Batter's endings. However, this fic has been in my mind for quite a while now, so here it is!**

* * *

The first thing that he noticed was that he was covered in blood.

Was it his?

Maybe.

He couldn't even see it. To do that he would have to look down, and he wasn't sure he could. But he could smell it and simply, it seemed to weigh on him.

Whatever was underneath him didn't feel like the ground of any Zone, though he might be wrong since he didn't recall laying down on the ground, on his back, as he was at the moment. Well, maybe he had when the Puppeteer was gone. That still didn't change the fact that the ground did not feel familiar, not one bit. Another thing that alerted him to the fact that he might not be somewhere he'd been before was the fact that everything sounded weird. If pulling the switch had given him a Game Over (which were common before the Puppeteer had given up on attacking manually), it was an odd one. There was none of that odd voice that sounded half-familiar (but underwater or something alike), singing to him to stay in his coma-like state. And it didn't even feel like he was somewhere purified either- that comforting, sterile feeling was nowhere to be seen (or rather, _felt_).

And so he could only come to one possible conclusion- he had no idea what the fuck was going on.

Instead of the white of a purified Zone, all he saw above him was darkness with little light dots. Perhaps it wasn't a Game Over- maybe he'd just flat-out died instead, become a spectre just like the ones he'd sworn to eradicate. He mustered the strength to raise his hand in front of his face.

No, he wasn't a ghost. Still alive, it seemed.

Too bad. That made things complicated.

So did the dark crimson substance covering his palm. It seemed to have dried by now, at least. Maybe it _was_ his. He didn't remember touching anything bloody, but who knows what actually happened when the switch was flipped? But, if it wasn't his, who's was it then? He didn't particularly want to answer that question.

He clenched his other hand down on something familiar. A bat. He had no idea, in his current state, which bat it was, but to know he had something to defend himself with was at least a little comforting in this odd situation. Lowering the first hand to rest on his chest, he focused more on what else he sensed around him.

Whatever was above him was partially obstructed by dark green... whatever-they-weres. Now that he was thinking more clearly, he could distinctly see a big, white thing above him- it was probably forever away, but it lit up the sky nicely. It wasn't directly above him, of course, it was off to the side, but it was still there. Thinking about what he could hear, now, there were two things that stood out.

One, an odd chirping and hooting.

Two, hacking and coughing.

That didn't sound good.

He sat up slowly, his joints screaming at him to just stay down and _rest_ for a while because _damn,_ everything hurt. He seemed to be surrounded by some sort of tall objects that he couldn't quite name. He didn't think he had the energy or even the willpower to stand up, so he settled for simply getting a better view of the area around him. Something odd was tugging at his thoughts, but he couldn't quite place it. For now, he was a little more concerned about whatever was making that hacking noise. Not because he was actually concerned, more because it was annoying as hell.

And sleep sounded _really_ good right about now.

The hacking noise was coming from his left side, a little bit away from him. Looking over, there was a small white shape, huddled and trembling against one of those tall objects. It's back was covered in the same scarlet that was on his hands and clothes. A long, fluffy tail curled stiffly as the figure shook and hacked something up, sounding very distressed.

"...Hello?"

He cringed at how raspy his voice sounded, and at the sudden pain in his throat that came with talking.

The small creature turned it's head roughly; the large mouth and piercing yellow eyes were a dead giveaway as to the identity of the cat. It crept closer to him, it's ears lowered in fear and blood on it's chin.

"...is that really you, Batter? Free from your Puppeteer's control?"

"Of course it's me, Judge."

Yep, the voice had absolutely confirmed who exactly the cat was. Instead of cowering in fear from the being that had killed him, the Judge came even closer, visibly upset. The cat even decided the best course of action was to crawl onto the Batter, an odd decision to the not-quite human. Sitting on his legs, the Judge looked at him with an expression of utmost confusion. "Where in the world are we?"

"I don't know." His answer was short and terse, wanting to keep the speaking at the minimum.

The Judge was about to say something else when there was a loud rustling to the right, making the cat tense up again and dig his claws into the Batter's legs. That action then caused the Batter to shout and try to push the Judge away from him. Something tumbled into the clearing- or rather, someone. Someone familiar, in fact. A person with a cat mask and a backpack.

"Zacharie?"

The masked merchant only had one thing to say: "What the fuck happened between Batter fighting the Queen and now?"

"It is a long and complicated story, but-"

"He fucking pulled the switch, didn't he?" Zacharie said, pointing to the Batter. "Goddammit, Batter, when will you learn?"

Zacharie seemed actually angry, though maybe not. "When will you learn that your actions have consequences?!" He almost started laughing at the end of his sentence, and that's when the Batter realized he was half-joking.

The Judge hopped off of the Batter's legs and stalked over to Zacharie, sitting and looking up at his friend. "Zacharie, do you have any idea where we are?"

"Yeah, I have a few actually. Hey, uh, why are you two both covered in blood?"

"Long story," the Batter spoke. Then he decided he should stand up, loosely grasping his bat with his bloody hands. He walked (read: limped) over to the other two, his legs burning. The journey from the Room to wherever he was now seemed to have roughed him up a bit. Or maybe he was actually just hurt before coming here and couldn't remember what happened.

Zacharie looked him up and down. "You look terrible."

"Oh. I hadn't noticed."

The Judge began to walk away from the situation. "I believe that we should begin our search for some kind of civilization." The Batter nodded and looked to Zacharie, who mumbled a quick '_si_' before meeting the Batter's eyes.

"Holy _shit_. Have your eyes always looked like that?!"

"Looked like what?" There was a distinct lack of mirrors in the last world the trio had been in- enough of a lack that the Batter, sadly, didn't know what his own eyes looked like.

"They're different colors. One's gray and the other's black."

"Weird. Let's go." The Batter slung his bat over his shoulder and began to follow the Judge out of the clearing. Zacharie followed quickly, his footsteps quick and light.

The cat, merchant, and purifier walked in silence through the area that the last one had heard Zacharie refer to as a 'forest' once he'd asked. They must have been walking for at _least_ half an hour (the Batter's eyelids were beginning to droop, he was stumbling a bit, and was suddenly bringing up the rear instead of being in the middle) before coming across a rushing mass of liquid that was definitely not plastic nor meat.

The Batter looked down at it. "What's this?"

"It's called water, _amigo_. More specifically, a river. Hand me your bat a for moment," said Zacharie. Once he handed it over, Zacharie dipped it into the water. He seemed to think for a moment, then pulled the baseball bat out and tossed it back to the Batter. "We can cross here," he announced. "It's shallow."

Then he walked straight through the river, the water coming up to just under his knees. The Batter followed him, the water level coming up to his mid-shins. It was cold and soaked the bottom of his pants and the tops of his boots, but he found it a good wakeup call. When he was across, he looked behind him and saw the Judge sitting on the riverbank, seeming disgusted. "I refuse."

"What do you want, a magical bridge to appear?" Zacharie called. The Judge didn't answer, instead walking down the riverbank, looking for a way across that didn't require getting any water on him.

The Batter and Zacharie followed on the other side, to make sure they didn't lose him. The Judge spotted a thin log across the river, seemingly there by fate. He lifted his head up smugly, hopping onto the thin, fragile log and nearly prancing across it. About halfway across, there was a faint, but small, _CRACK_. The Judge froze. Zacharie seemed to have heard it too.

"Pablo, go back. I'll carry you across if you really don't want to get wet-" Zacharie began. He was interrupted by the Judge taking a few more steps forward and seemingly stepping on a weak spot on the branch. The branch split with another crack and sent the white cat tumbling into the river.

Zacharie yelled out, "Pablo!", in alarm, while the Batter started running down the riverbank to keep the cat in his sights. Wondering how in the world he'd get to the floundering figure in the middle of the now-deep river, he was suddenly completely awake. That was understandable. The Judge was yowling and obviously in trouble until he seemed to have dipped under the surface one two many times, making him seem to go silent. The current was carrying him away quickly, but the Batter was most definitely faster. The cat drifted more to the side, prompting the Batter to get a bit ahead, step one leg in as far as he could (making the water reach nearly to his hip) and reach out with his bat in the case he had misjudged the distance.

The Judge came within reach shortly, allowing the Batter to reach out and grab him by the scruff of his neck and pull him close. The Judge didn't even start visibly moving until he was passed to Zacharie, who had caught up with the Batter in an instant. He was shivering like crazy, and the only thing the masked merchant said as he held the cat close to his chest, was, "I told ya so."

* * *

The Batter and Zacharie went on together, away from the river, for a few more minutes, until they'd found another clearing. Walking next to each other this time, the Batter could see that the Judge was not, in fact, warming up. The air around them held a chill; not enough of one to keep the Batter awake, it seemed (and neither was the completely cold pant leg that he'd stuck in the river so impulsively), but yet still enough of one to ensure the Judge couldn't quite recover from falling in the near-freezing river. He was still shivering like mad, no matter how closely Zacharie held him.

"I think we should stop for the night," said Zacharie. "No offense, but you literally look dead on your feet. And Pablo's still soaked, I don't think he's getting any better."

The Batter mumbled out agreement and sat down on the ground, tossing his hat and his baseball bat on the ground next to him. Zacharie set his backpack next to him, unzipped it with one hand, and pulled out a big, fuzzy, and blue blanket. He wrapped the small, unconscious form of the Judge in it, then disappeared into the woods again. He came back a minute later, his arms full of sticks, then swiftly deposited them on the ground, bringing a small lighter from his pocket and a wad of paper with random scribbles on it. He set the paper aflame, then tossed it onto the sticks, which came to burn quickly. He sat down now, unwrapping the blanket from the Judge and instead wrapping it over his shoulders while he held the cat.

The purifier happened to just be _so_ tired that he was suddenly no longer sitting up. Instead, he was laying down, using Zacharie's lap as a pillow. The merchant seemed a bit surprised by his exhausted antics, but nevertheless, allowed it. The blanket was then wrapped around the Batter as well, the Judge's position being on the Batter's chest. One of Zacharie's hands softly pet the Judge, while the other stroked the Batter's hair. He was sending a silent message: _go to sleep, I'll keep watch_.

It wasn't long before the Batter closed his eyes, watching the fire dance having made him even drowsier.

And with the Judge no longer shivering on his chest, Zacharie's soft touch, and the warmth of the blanket and fire, he eventually managed to succumb to the lure of sleep.

* * *

Zacharie couldn't help the quiet chuckle escape from his lips. The Batter had fallen asleep on the spot, not to mention that Pablo was finally getting better. He imagined that the cat's cold, damp fur would be somewhat of an annoyance to the man whose head rested on his thighs, but he surprisingly didn't seem to mind. The cat himself was just snuggled up on the Batter's chest, finally ceasing the horrible shivering that had had Zacharie very concerned for his friend. Thankfully, the fire and the blanket were enough to warm him. Though, Zacharie could be terribly wrong and Pablo could actually have gotten terribly worse- he'd heard it was a symptom of really bad hypothermia, at least he had before being whisked away to the world of OFF.

Wait.

_That's a little too much exposition_, he decided. _If somebody happens to be reading my mind, I don't want them to learn too much about me... However, I could just be being paranoid. Oh, well._

There was a loud rustle in the bushes, not unlike the sound he'd made when discovering the Batter and Pablo in the first clearing. Two figures stumbled out of the shrubs, the one in front choosing a fighting stance while the person behind her chose to cower instead.

The girl in front had short, choppy, pastel yellow hair, and wore her favorite yellow jacket, baggy pants, and stripes. Blue eyes shone aggressively at the man she couldn't quite recognize in the flickering light. The person behind her was in standard form, wearing black pants, a white dress shirt, and a tie, their hair being best described as _strawberry blonde_ and it also being extremely fluffy.

"Calm down, _Sucre._ It's me. Come sit by the fire, but do not wake up Pablo or Batter."

She didn't hesitate, her expression turning to pure relief when she realized Zacharie was the person she'd found. The person behind her- an Elsen, Zacharie figured (and since he doubted any other Elsen had come to the other world, he'd just refer to them as 'Elsen')- followed her closely.

Sugar sat to his left while Elsen sat to her left, seemingly scared and confused by the strange world they'd never experienced. Sugar spoke first. "Why are we back here? I thought the ducky had killed me."

"He did. But then everything changed."

Zacharie's answer seemed to not have really answered much of anything, making it a pretty shoddy answer in everyone's opinion.

"Sh-she's right," said Elsen. "Why... why are we here?"

"I'm not sure, _amigo_. All I know is that the Batter pulled the switch in the Room, everything went dark, and suddenly I was in the forest. I found the Batter and Pablo looking like they'd just walked out of a murder scene... then Pablo fell in the river and might have gotten hypothermia, but I can't be sure."

Sugar nodded. "I just found Elsen here walking around, then I saw the fire and we came over."

"What did you mean by the switch?" asked Elsen.

"It's a long story," Zacharie replied.

Truth be told, he'd rather not say what he _thought_ the switch had done. Not in front of the Batter or Pablo, even though they _were_ both asleep. He'd seen his fluffy friend running to follow the Batter to chapter 0, where the switch could be found. After he'd seen all the blood, he was pretty certain a nasty fight had ensued. Even though it was most certain that the Batter had won the fight (the switch _had_ been pulled, after all), he could definitely have been fooled by all the blood on the purifiers hands and clothes. But it did seem he wasn't suffering from any open wounds- admittedly, making him wonder if all the blood was Pablo's instead, which sent a chill down his spine- and he _was_ sleeping peacefully now. Pablo didn't seem to be currently bleeding either, though the blood on his mouth had made Zacharie worry a bit.

_Was he coughing it up?_

But the cat was still sleeping peacefully on the Batter's chest. Clearing her throat, Sugar spoke again. "So, who else do you think came over? From the other world, I mean."

"I'm not sure. But by all accounts, you and Pablo should be dead. I'm not too certain about Elsen," Zacharie admitted.

"I was hiding in the bunker... I was safe when everything went dark..." they mumbled.

"Something tells me it all has to do with probability," said Zacharie. "Think about it. Sugar might not have been found in the basement in a different version, meaning that she still had a chance to be alive when the switch was pulled. Elsen was safe in that bunker. The Batter didn't kill me- either because he decided I was pure, he didn't get around to it, or he couldn't fight me for whatever reason- and I'm fairly certain that Pablo didn't win that fight. However, there was still the _possibility_ that he could, so he lived. Does that make sense?"

"...Batter fought Pablo?" Sugar asked quietly, her hands silently clenching to fists. "And he _won_?"

"Why did you think they were both covered in blood? Why did you _think_ I specifically said that both of them looked like they'd just walked out of a murder scene?"

Sugar was silent now, glaring at the asleep form of the purifier. Eventually she forced another question out of her throat. "What about Valerie? Do you think he came over too?"

"Probably not. When Pablo told me what happened, he made it sound like there was no way Valerie could have survived. He's most likely gone for good, now."

Now nobody talked. Elsen had already laid down, curled up next to the fire. It seemed like they were going to try to sleep.

"Hugo or the Queen might have come over, from the sheer power the both of them possess," Zacharie mentioned. "But other than them, I don't think anybody else had the probability or the power to escape death and come here."

"You could be wrong about your probability theory, though," Sugar reminded. "You've been wrong before."

"That I have."

She hummed smugly and laid down on her side next to him. Her head was right next to his leg, so he lightly draped the blanket over her shoulder and side of her face. "Oh. Soft," she murmured.

"Mmmhm. I kinda feel bad for Elsen over there, though."

"They'll be fine."

"Okay then."

Sugar seemed to have been quite tired as well, since she fell asleep within a few minutes of watching the fire dance.

Zacharie was surrounded, for just a while, by his friends, all asleep. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to fall asleep himself, sitting up, but he supposed he could lie back or just stay up and keep watch.

And so the night ticked by.

* * *

**Yeet boyos that was chapter one, tell me how y'all like it in the reviews if anybody reads this.**


	2. Zacharie Is Hiding Something

**Just so you guys know, I have another OFF story called All Bets Are Off if you guys wanna check it out.**

* * *

Zacharie jerked awake to the sound of soft singing. Well, he doubted it was the sound that had woken him, since it was very nice. It was more likely the dream he'd been having, one that was based upon a memory. One of the only times Valerie had ever screamed and cried.

_Valerie._

Yes, he could remember more of the dream now.

_I think it was during the Before... yes, that makes sense. _

_When we thought..._

_When we thought Pablo was dead. He wasn't even called Pablo back then- I gave him that name. But to whatever being is likely reading my thoughts right about now, don't think I'm going to think about what he was called before. I wouldn't do that to him._

He snapped out of his thoughts to focus more on the soft singing. Well, he couldn't get up, due to the Batter's head in his lap, the cat on the Batter's chest, and Sugar would probably notice if he left too.

And then he realized Elsen was nowhere to be seen.

Craning his neck around in a tiny bit of panic (if they'd wandered off too far they would easily get lost), he soon did spot the small figure in the distance, sitting against a tree.

_They were the one singing_.

He recognized the song now that he could focus more on the lyrics. He had taught every Elsen that song when he had come to that world, as a way to ease the sorrows of their painful existence. Of course the Queen took over after that horrid king was slain, the Zones were created, and the Elsen all split up to live elsewhere. But of course, things didn't last- the few living in Zone 0 had deserted after a while, prompting Pablo to give the Zone a quick redesign to get rid of the small residential area. Then it was just Valerie, Sugar, Zacharie, and Pablo for a long time.

God, he missed those days.

But back to the song. Elsen reached the chorus again.

_"Turn the bad blood into good_  
_Bring the laughter, bring the love_  
_Drink again, 'cause everyone forgets_  
_In the land of broken promises," _they sang.

Looking up, the sun was almost directly overhead. _We slept for a while..._

"Bravo," he spoke. Elsen jumped, their frizzy strawberry-blonde hair frazzled and completely bedheaded. "You have a good singing voice."

Elsen stood up immediately, flustered. "Th-th-thank you!" they squeaked.

Sugar stirred at his side, rolling onto her back and yawning (thankfully away from the pile of ash that was their former fire). "Whazgoinon...?"

"Elsen was singing."

"Shhhh!" they hissed, hands fidgeting together.

"Get Ducky and Pabs up," Sugar insisted. "We should get going..."

Before Zacharie could make a move to wake the man in his lap, the Batter sat bolt upright, nearly hitting his head on Zacharie's mask. Pablo slid to the ground from the Batter's chest, awakened but not aware.

Pablo's weak 'miaou' went unnoticed, as Zacharie had just discovered a fascinating new item.

"What's that?"

Now that the Batter was hatless, it was easy to see the dark mane down his back, a low ponytail being the preferred method of keeping it all together. "You have a lot more hair than I thought, _amigo_!"

The Batter snatched his hat from the ground and took his now-revealed-to-be-long hair and stuffed it up into the cap as he put it on. "What an astute observation," he snarked, taking his bat and standing up. "Let's go."

_Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of... my lap... that suddenly sounds quite wrong._

Sugar and Zacharie both stood up now (the latter after packing up his blanket and putting on his backpack), and in the daylight and the close proximity of all four, Zacharie could see that Sugar was the second tallest of the group, followed by himself, and then Elsen was the smallest- coming up to only Zacharie's chin. Of course the Batter was the tallest and Pablo was being left out (it was unfair to judge [ha] a cat in height on the same level as four humanoid beings).

Zacharie crouched down to pick up the white cat, since Pablo didn't look like he really felt like moving. "As you all can clearly see," he began, the cat slipping out of his arms. "Cats are made of liquid."

Sugar snorted and shook her head. "You use that joke too much."

"I'm aware."

Finally, with all of Pablo gathered in his arms, Zacharie took a few steps forward, glanced over his shoulder, jerked his head to the side in a 'follow me!' motion, and then they were off.

* * *

It was silent for a long time as they walked, except for Pablo's purrs because _of course _Zacharie couldn't resist petting him. Pablo _was_ a very soft cat. Zacharie had decided years ago that Pablo and Valerie absolutely _had_ to be Ragdolls with different coloring than normal simply because of the really soft fur, _and_ they _both_ (though it was subtle) would go limp when picked up. Although he did admit that cats in the other world were different from cats in his original world, due to a multitude of factors- mainly, Pablo and Valerie could talk.

"Let's play a game," Sugar said out of nowhere. "I'm bored."

"What would we play?" asked Zacharie.

"Never Have I Ever."

"I'm holding a cat. I'm not sure that would work."

"Put him down."

"No!"

"Have the Batter carry him."

This time the 'No!' shouted came from Pablo.

"Well, maybe we won't keep score. It's more fun like that."

Zacharie nodded. "Alright. I'll go first. Never have I ever pet a dog."

Sugar gasped. "You've _never_ pet a dog?!"

"Nope."

"What is a dog?" asked the Batter.

"They're... dangerous," said Elsen. "Too big... too many teeth."

"May I inquire as to if I am able to play this game?" asked Pablo.

"No."

"I can't believe any of you. You've never pet a dog. Zacharie, we grew up together, how did you never pet a dog?! They were all over the place!" Sugar exclaimed.

"I was _scared _of them, I was tiny back then."

"...There's a point somewhere in there. Anyway, I'll go next. Never have I ever been ticklish."

"You _dick_!" Zacharie called over his shoulder. While he looked, he noticed that Elsen was keeping score anyway, two fingers down. The Batter looked confused again.

"What does 'ticklish' mean?"

Elsen, again, rose to answer. "It's, um... h-hard to explain. I-If you move your arm I c-could show you..."

The Batter did, and now walking backwards, Zacharie and Pablo watched as Elsen poked him a few times in rapid succession on the side, getting the Batter to clamp his arm back to his side, barely missing the offending digits.

"It seems that if we had been keeping score, everyone would have, unfortunately, lost a point," Pablo observed. "Excepting the asker of the question."

Sugar smiled smugly as it was now Elsen's turn. Zacharie slowed down to walk in the group instead of leading the way. "N-Never have I ever... baby-talked an animal."

Zacharie and Sugar exchanged knowing looks. "I find it impossible to believe you've never told an animal how cute it is," she eventually told them. "Especially a bunny. Or a chinchilla. Or a kitten. Or-"

Elsen shook their head. "Never. I-I never wanted to get close to one before."

"Well, _Sucre_ and I are certainly guilty of baby-talking an animal," Zacharie sighed. "We grew up together and her mother had a lot of cats."

Sugar snapped her fingers. "And the hedgehogs! Have you ever even _seen_ a hedgehog, El?"

For once, the Batter didn't ask what anything meant, which was expected. Someone like him neither would have access to a cute animal to baby-talk (seeing as most cute animals were strays in Zone 2 and normally stayed out of sight) nor _would _baby-talk an animal just because of their personality.

"Pablo's half bunny with how soft his fur is."

"Hush, you."

"No, I'm serious. Elsen, Batter, feel."

Pablo didn't seem to mind being pet by the two. Elsen's reaction to the softness of his fur was downright _cute_, eyes widening and a soft 'whoa' escaping their mouth. The Batter was more subtle, though still showing a visible reaction- a grumpy expression turned neutral. On the contrary, Pablo wore a tired, strained smile that day, one that made it clear (at least to Zacharie) that he didn't really want to smile but had to keep up appearances. But it wasn't annoyance from Elsen and the Batter that was causing it- he'd been looking like this the whole day so far- so the most logical conclusion Zacharie came to...

Was that he missed Valerie. Or... maybe he was missing somebody _else..._

But that was a whole other can of worms.

"Told ya."

Elsen and Batter both removed their hands as Sugar flung her arms on their shoulders. "It's Batter's turn!"

"Oh."

There was silence as the Batter thought about what he would claim to have never done. Pablo suddenly went stiff in Zacharie's arms, ears perked up and body language suggesting 'completely alert'.

"Hey, what's with you?" asked Zacharie, receiving no answer. Sugar leaned over his shoulder and blew air into Pablo's ear, making him twitch and turn to give her an exasperated look.

"For your information, I was attempting to hear the most _peculiar_ sound that had appeared when our dear Batter was mulling over what to say. Unfortunately, it seems such a sound is only a figment of my-"

And then he did it again, undeterred by Sugar blowing in his ear a second time, and after a moment began to struggle out of Zacharie's arms. He was let go in surprise and hit the ground running, speeding off through the woods as fast as his little legs would take him.

"Pablo! What even- Fuckin'-"

Zacharie gave up on trying to voice his confusion clearly and chased after his feline friend. Sugar, Elsen, and the Batter followed after him, but Zacharie was the fastest out of the group, even with his heavy backpack and small legs.

Finally, he reached a clearing with two small, white, fluffy shapes in the center, one being extremely happy to see the other, as evident by his now beaming expression. And by having performed the cat version of a tackle-hug on the other.

"Valerie?!"

The blue-eyed cat.

He was

alive.

H

o

w

?

Sheepishly

looking

down

and

saying

"I'm  
sorry  
I  
worried  
you  
all."

Pablo looked absolutely _ecstatic_. He ran back to Zacharie and bumped against his legs like 'can you even believe this oh my god this is great HE'S ALIVE'. Then he ran back to Valerie and headbutted him affectionately.

Sugar, Elsen, and the Batter had caught up by now, all having quite different reactions- the Batter was unreadable as always but was probably pleasantly surprised, Sugar was relived that her friend wasn't dead, and Elsen... well, they just looked confused. "Who...?"

Zacharie patted the top of their head distractedly and was pleased to find that their hair was just as soft as he thought it would be. "I'll explain later. Valerie!"

Valerie was smiling too now, happy to be reunited with his brother and his friends. As Zacharie and the others approached, he said, "I only miaoued twice and he found me."

"What happened with you? I mean, we know you were brought over from the other world, but why weren't you with the rest of us?" asked Zacharie.

"I don't know... I just woke up here after... something happened on the library's roof, I-I'm not sure. But I was really tired and I could barely even move, so I just went to sleep. Then I began to miaou when I woke and, well..."

Awakening. For some odd reason, the thought of waking up a cat stirred guilt deep inside Zacharie. Sugar thumped him on the shoulder and said, "I guess your probability theory was wrong, huh?"

"Yeah," he muttered. Even though he'd known all along that the theory was incorrect.

Even though  
he knew  
why  
they  
were  
there.

* * *

_He couldn't watch his best friend keep suffering like this._

_He had to do _something.

* * *

Pablo was rubbing against his leg again, obviously not wanting to walk as they pressed on. Sugar was already holding Valerie close, petting him sweetly as she did.

_How dumb it is that the only time Pablo's actually been able to sleep as of late is when he's hypothermic...?_

Zacharie could only hope that Pablo wouldn't be awake all night. After all, there were no more reloads now. No more script to fall back on. Zacharie gathered Pablo in his arms nonetheless, and they all kept walking.

The trees abruptly ended, showing a dirt road. Zacharie jerked his head in its direction, drawing attention. "Look. I'd bet anything that leads to the city."

"Well, that's cheating," Sugar muttered. "That sign literally says 'this way to the city'."

"True."

And so they began walking down the side of the road. After a few minutes, Zacharie heard a snicker behind him and Sugar's sickly sweet voice saying, "Batter, don't look down."

"Why?"

Zacharie whirled around to the sound of a grown man screaming bloody murder. Said grown man was also batting furiously at his shoulder, jumping back three feet as he did. Pablo squirmed and wrinkled his nose, while Valerie looked on in fascinated confusion, having jumped down from Sugar's arms. Sugar was absolutely losing her shit laughing while Elsen cringed and backed away from the quarter-sized, black, eight-legged monster on the grass.

"What the hell was that?!" the Batter nearly screeched.

Zacharie shook his head and bent down, causing Pablo to wiggle around even more in his arms. "That, my friend, is a spider. They're all over this world."

"_No_."

"Yes."

"Zacharie, do not put me on the ground with- Valerie, stop eating things you shouldn't be!"

Valerie froze with half the spider in his mouth. "What?"

"First it was Japhet, and now you are attempting to consume a creature as disgusting as that one. Wonderful."

"Ugh... Valerie, just finish what you're doing," said Zacharie. "And let's keep going."

The Batter still seemed shaken by what had just happened. Zacharie could sense arachnophobia developing. Valerie hopped onto Sugar's shoulder- an impressive feat, considering her height and the fact that she was in motion- and situated himself.

"Don't rub your face on me after you just ate that!" Sugar whined. Valerie made a noise of annoyance in response.

"Hey, Batter, don't feel bad," said Zacharie. "Pablo hates spiders too."

"S-so do I," said Elsen.

* * *

Four paws padded heavily on the white floor, racing just out of reach of the doll-like creatures. He flung himself face-first into the red box and leaped into the Nothingness.

There was someone waiting for him there- a fluffier cat with bright green eyes, swishing her tail curiously and circling him the moment after he got to his feet. "Did you find him?" she purred. "Bandit arrived safely with... the little prince."

"No. He wasn't in Zone 2 either," he sighed. "Let's go find the others. They're still camped out in... _his_ place, correct?"

"Mmmhmm!" she chirped, leading the way to the dead yellow flowers. Normally, when the Batter killed everything, the flowers of the Nothingness turned pure white, but now... this time around, all they did was curl up and grey.

The Zone, unlike the others, was still yellow, an indication that the Guardian was alive. He still held on to some hope, after all. The female led the way down the road, entering the cellar and delving into it's depths. There was where the survivors kept- far too many Elsen had fallen, only a few remaining, the others dying by Secretaries or by becoming Burnt, where one of the Guardians... had taken it upon himself to put them out of their misery. One had particularly stuck out to him... one named Taylor, who preferred she/her pronouns. He remembered that she'd been screaming as she turned to sulfuric acid and had to be put down by her former boss.

That aside, faces fell as the survivors realized who exactly was there and who exactly was not. They were missing two figures of royal power. A Guardian... and their Queen.

Yes, the Queen was missing. He wasn't sure how they had managed to just _miss _the most important figure in their world, but so it was. He turned sharply and stalked towards the huddled figures in the corner; one tall, one big, and the other feathered. Japhet had not, in fact, returned to the size of a chick- he was still his gigantic millennial phoenix self. Nobody knew exactly why the Guardians and everyone else who died was back. Well, they weren't _certain _if everyone was back...

"No sign of Pablo?" came a small voice. He looked down at the small cat with short black fur. Her name was Charlotte, he'd learned- she and her twin Edna (Edna somehow had much fluffier fur than Charlotte) had red eyes and differing temperaments. Charlotte was skittish and uncertain; Edna was spunky and outspoken.

He shook his head slowly. "I couldn't find him anywhere. I suppose Zacharie must have succeeded. Otherwise..."

"Otherwise...?"

No. Pablo couldn't be dead, he just had to believe Pablo was alive and well in the other world. He couldn't bear it if he learned that Pablo was gone. Pablo couldn't be gone. Pablo... Pablo, the fluffy white cat with golden eyes and a kinked tail. The cat with a wide smile. The cat who had _helped _him, he couldn't lose him-

"Alain?"

He bristled at her sudden, small voice. "I'm fine," he insisted. He turned sharply away from her and towards a different corner, where a white fox and a fluffier black cat were sitting. Next to them was an Elsen who said he was called Bandit, the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up and a young child sitting on his lap. The child had grayish brown skin and wavy, short black hair. He wore a red over-sized sweater and what looked like dark blue sweatpants. He was barefoot.

Sitting a few feet from him was a woman with long hair, wearing a sweater and skirt. She didn't seem to be interested much in them.

The child was fine, sitting catatonically on Bandit's lap. He stared ahead with a vacant expression, his hand occasionally tracing where the bat had hit him on the head. Alain turned away from them, not entirely sure what he was even doing anymore.

Really, what was the point now that he was separated from Pablo?

"You don't look so good," came Jozlyn's hushed tone. "Come with me."

He didn't protest as she lazily dragged her tail under his chin, indicating for him to follow her out of the room. Once they were in the hall leading to the stairs, she stopped and sat down. "Alright, spill it."

"I miss him." Alain was surprised at how quickly he had said it.

"Well, of course you do. All you did was talk about him when we met," she said with a quick bat of her eyelashes. "Remember? You came to rescue me in Zone 3, after that terrible man with the bat came through. I was cornered by those things... and then you came in-"

"I wasn't looking for you," he interrupted. "I was trying to see if Pablo wound up there after the end."

"Right, of course," she murmured. For a moment, he wondered if he'd offended her, but then brushed the thought aside- why would he care, if he had? "It's so wrong of me to treat you like a knight in shining armor."

It was silent for a moment as he sat next to her.

"What's something you remember about him?" she asked softly.

"When Zacharie squeezed his paws, he would halfheartedly try to pull away and he would snicker."

"You've told me that already."

"I've told you everything I know about him."

She hummed. "Have you found my owner yet?"

"No, I haven't."

"Bandit met a child on his way back from the Room."

"Did he, now?"

"Yes. The child calls himself 'Luv'. Like L-U-V. He was with someone who was badly injured. The kid reminds me of that man with the bat... except the kid's hair is like, light blond. The man's was black."

"Where is the injured person and the child?"

"Up above, in the ground-floor room. The hurt man was distrustful and wanted to keep the child with him. Dedan basically threw some Luck Tickets at him and left him to heal by himself."

"Do you think I should meet with this man?"

"Probably."

"Alright, then."

"Be careful. He seems upset. He said something about the people they were with before dying. He might lash out."

"Jozlyn, I'm a cat. _You're_ a cat. If there's one thing Pablo's taught me, it's that everyone likes cats. I'll be fine."

"...Alright."

* * *

Zacharie had not missed the loudness of the city. He much preferred the calmness of the Zones prior to the Batter's arrival- at least in the areas not inhabited by the spectres.

"Where do we go from here?" Sugar shouted over the noise.

"You've gotten an apartment here before, just go do it again! Take the cats with you. Batter, Elsen, and I will go get some supplies!"

Sugar nodded, Valerie still on her shoulder. Pablo stared off into space until Zacharie nudged him to go follow Sugar.

She was already across the street at this point. Pablo ran after her. He then suddenly stopped in the middle of the road like a deer caught in headlights. There was a car heading straight for him. It was only logical to assume he had never seen a machine such as it before. His frozen fascination would be the death of him.

"PABLO, MOVE!"

A split second before the metal behemoth collided with him, Pablo darted out from his certain demise. Zacharie sighed and rubbed his face through the mask; he hadn't even began to think of the newcomers' reactions to all this world had to offer.

"Um... wh-where are we going?" asked Elsen.

"Clothes first. I doubt either of your packed up to leave, and I think Batter only has that outfit." Zacharie turned on his heel, leading the way. "Come on! I'm sure credits will work as a source of payment."

* * *

Everything had taken much longer than the Batter expected. After new clothes came buying food, and his mood hadn't improved the entire day. He felt overheated and overwhelmed by all _this. _

He could barely hear Sugar coming up to them with the cats and leading them all to the place she'd found.

His feet were killing him. He just wanted to sit down.

"Home sweet home," she said, gesturing to the studio apartment with a flourish. When walking in, one would be in the kitchen, the bathroom to the right. Then would be a space to be used as a living room, and a larger space to the side to be used as a bedroom. Zacharie had immediately went to that space and spread out the blanket there. Then he took a red ribbon from his bag and tied a bow smartly around the Judge's neck.

"It's been a long day," he said, putting the groceries in the fridge as he did. "I think we should treat ourselves to the first real night in the city and go out to eat."

The Batter was not hungry. He shook his head and lay back on the blanket.

"Oh. Well, I suppose you can keep Valerie and Pablo company. Let's go, everyone!"

The Batter felt dizzy, though he was laying on his back and not moving at all. Valerie was excitedly checking out the new apartment while the Judge was off amusing himself by looking out the window.

"...I had assumed he'd forgotten about this," said the Judge.

Valerie was trying to respond, but the Batter couldn't focus on any sound anymore.

Eventually, he did fall into an unrestful slumber.

* * *

He woke many times throughout the night.

All six of them were cuddled together on top of the blanket, due to a lack of beds. Elsen's head rested on his chest, while Zacharie had curled up to his side. Sugar was most likely next to Zacharie; the gentle rise and fall of her chest was marked with the two cats resting on top of her.

The Batter didn't feel well at all.

* * *

Too warm.

How long had he been asleep?

Too long.

He felt nauseous. Feverish. His head pounded.

The back of a hand was placed on his forehead. The hand was cold.

A cat with a red ribbon was sitting on the windowsill.

He still wasn't moving. He was still dizzy.

"He's sick."

"What?"

"He's sick."

"I heard you the first time!"

"Stop," he rasped.

The voices surrounding him became quiet.

"Very sick," one decided.

He didn't recognize the man with green eyes, light-brown skin, and messy dark hair.

He couldn't tell what was going on.

He passed out again.


End file.
